God of Memory
by Mononoke-hime x sukai kurora
Summary: Orihara Izaya didn't ask to be reborn as Uchiha Sasuke's eldest son. As secrets are revealed, dark ploys from the past are released to the world, complete with kidnappings ordered by the Yondaime Tsuchikage, Uchiha Itsuku will use everything in his power to survive and make his second life far sweeter than his first. But what is price...of not being a coward and being loved?
1. Prologue

_Prologue_

_"What?" _The _Yondaime _Tsuchikage had abruptly stood from her desk and stared at the papers she was holding as if they contained the most destructive _kinjtutsu_. Her obsidian eyes, once always collected and observant, were now widening in shock.

And quite rapidly, rage and, despite considering herself immune to such thoughts as there was always a risk, betrayal so violent the female leader felt nausea building in her stomach.

_"Tsuchikage-sama!" _The door to her office opened, and an intimidating figure slammed the door shut. An Iwagakure forehead protector was no longer hiding his forehead, and a beard had transformed when previously there had only been a wisp. For a brief moment, Kurotsuchi saw her childhood friend Akatsuchi as he had been before the Fourth Shinobi World War: a young, naïve but capable shinobi and consultant to her grandfather. It always seemed that the young man was always by her side. It had been sixteen years since the Fourth Shinobi War had ended. Tonight marked the last day of the war, when the Infinite Tsukuyomi had been dispelled and Uchiha Madara had died.

_Daga… _Kurotsuchi felt the ripe fury burning anger burning inside of her bones. It was almost as if her _kekkei genkai _was physically forming inside herself, turning her organs and viscera into pure molten lava. How could Konohagakure had deceived them for so long? Hatake Kakashi's and Uzumaki Naruto's faces appeared in her mind. The heroes of the war, and _deceivers_ as well.

Kurotsuchi had always been wary of Konohagakure. Even though the land far east had prided itself on peace and tolerance, the roots that nourished the green leaves were of decay and blood, built on the blood of traitors. When the dark-haired woman had demanded information on Konohagakure secrets in late September, she had not expected Nara Shikamaru, the advisor to the Hokage, to obey her request.

Nor so quickly, although it made sense politically.

The Chuunin Exams had been cancelled due to the attacks of Momoshiki, and the appearance of the new Ninja Technology that Konohagakure had secretly made under their noses made Kurotsuchi and the other Kage of the Five Great Shinobi Countries uneasy. Was Konoha amassing strength and preparing to invade, as it had done in the Second Shinobi War? Kurotsuchi knew that something was occurring in Konohagakure, but she had no idea what. Due to the formation of the Shinobi Union, nations were forbidden to spy on one another.

Although…there was one small figure, mysterious enough only to be identified by his strange red eyes. Perhaps he had born with those eyes. It was no wonder that the child was an Uchiha.

The younger Uchiha…now almost a man.

"Uchiha Sasuke..." Kurotsuchi hissed, her eyes narrowing as she remembered declaring the former international criminal who had attacked the Five Kage Summit and started the Fourth Shinobi World War a spy. Who knew what he was hiding now, going from place to place, around the world? Had he actually been searching for dangerous enemies that Kaguya had prepared an ancient White Zetsu Army for? Or had he been faking his entire "redemption journey," secretly allying with the gods he slayed to destroy the hard-won peace that the Five Shinobi Countries had sacrificed so much to realize?

And his son too…the eerie look-a-like, Uchiha Itsuku. Supposedly he was born three years after the war. Kurotsuchi still remembered _his_ Chuunin Exams two years ago. She had been ecstatic at the prospect of a younger genin joining the Chuunin Exams, but was very disappointed when the ten year shinobi, looking too much like his father, had simply dodged his opponents attacks and collapsed the other genin through his…ability to see anyone's fears, insecurities, and exploited them.

Kurotsuchi had paled when she had heard that Uchiha Itsuku, and his team were apparently exploring uncharted territory after the three _creepy _ten-year-olds had become Chuunin.

There had been a boy who had used chakra scalpel to limbs and seemed very interested in dissection. All with a creepy smile on his face and talking about fairies, of all things.

Then there was a taller ten-year-old with amber-gold eyes that looked peaceful but ended up destroying the entire arena with his bare strength.

Apparently that boy and Uchiha Itsuku loved to argue and fight all the time, knowing the worried and exasperated sighs and mutterings of the Konoha villagers. However, upon mentioning Itsuku's parents, no one seemed to provide a good explanation of why the oldest child of Uchiha Sasuke was never punished for fighting with Shimizu Shizuki.

"_At least the daughter is well behaved. She has her mother's looks, and never strays from social morality."_

What is Itsuku wasn't Uchiha Sasuke's son?

What is he was some other Uchiha bent on destruction, like Uchiha Madara?

The five Kage and the Hokage's son, Boruto, had attacked Momoshiki together. Kurotsuchi remembered the self-disgust that had mellowed her good mood for weeks on end. She was supposed to be a Kage, and she had lost to an enemy that a mere genin had defeated! It didn't matter that the other Kages had been knocked out as well. The allies had parted on good terms, and Kurotsuchi had been looking forward to beating Konohagakure ass in the next Chuunin Exams. But then, a month after the failed Chuunin Exams, unrest had been building in Iwagakure.

Kurotsuchi knew that she wasn't the shinobis or civilian first choice at being the _Yondaime _Hokage. She had not lost anyone in the war, and her family remained intact. Although the war had lasted only three days, ending on the early sunset hours on October 11, the death toll was unusually high. 76% of shinobi in the Allied Shinobi Forces above chuunin rank had died. Although only on the second day, the toll remained 50%, the attacks by Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Obito had been a massacre on the alliance.

To this day, there were over 2,000 shinobi and kunoichi missing. One them, Kurotscuchi knew, was the Kazekage's student. Kurotsuchi had been surprised that the Kazeakage would have allowed two genin to experience war, but she said nothing to inner voice that said no wonder to why they died. The friend inside of Kurotsuchi knew that her fellow Kage was grieving and didn't know how to give up even after all these years. Back then, her grandfather had simply sighed every time he sensed the Kazekage's chakra by the border of the Land of Lightning. Every year it seemed, the red-haired former jinchuukiri would search the area where his student had been last seen.

_Sixteen years, _Kurotsuchi mused, melancholy draining her energy. _That's a long time to be grieving for anyone._

The death had affected Iwagakure in a multitude of ways. Genin had to grow faster than they should have, taking on more dangerous missions because the qualified shinobi had died. Unrest grew, ten years after the war, when Kurotsuchi had been named the _Yondaime _Tsuchikage. Not only had her ancestors had been in the line of leaders since Iwagakure's conception, but she had not lost any family members in the war that took so many lives. The masses had been pacified two years later, eight years ago now, when Kurotsuchi had married the Land of Earth daimyo's youngest son. She always remembered her grandfather's words. _"Marriage is a part of shinobi life as is alliances, Kurotsuchi." _

Still, the arranged marriage had been hard to swallow. Kurotsuchi supposed that her grandfather had been happy to see that his granddaughter had given birth to a child seven years ago, but so far, the old man hadn't even met his great-grandson.

Kurotsuchi sighed and thought about Sekiei. Small and studious for his age, the boy had little interest in politics or shinobi life. Kurotsuchi had almost despaired at the sight of her child wailing at accidently nicking himself with a kunai when he had actively been trying to begin his career as a shinobi. Her husband had suggested, when their son was asleep, that he should study and maybe become a scholar of some kind since the child was always reading. Kurotsuchi had almost slapped him from his ignorance and divorced him.

Despite not wanting to become a shinobi, Sekiei loved his mother above all else and wanted to please her. He was currently enrolled in the Ninja Academy, and at the top of his class. He was easily visible due to the wavy dark brown hair he had inherited from his father complete with his obsidian eyes. The child's shy and formal way of speaking often threw children off, as he was the member of a long line of Tsuchikages, and likely the next Tsuchikage himself.

Kurotsuchi almost snorted at the imagination.

Now Kurotsuchi was poised to create a world in which her son feared, that her husband hated as he had lost his mother during the war and could possibly sacrifice everything of the sixteen years past due to the documents she held in her hands.

The official classified documents of Konoha's secrets since the First Shinobi World War. Shikamaru hadn't realized that her people were very good at spying too, and found out information that she wanted, and more.

She hadn't realized that that so many incidents had happened in Konohagakure after the war. Her hands trembled at the thought of the violet girl with a beast to drain chakra. Uchiha Shin…and Orochimaru's son, out of all things! The transparency that Uzumaki Naruto touted was nothing but a sham. Kurotsuchi wanted to spit in his face.

The _Yondaime _Tsuchikage steeled herself. She had to keep her people safe. She had to keep her son, wholly beloved to her no matter what her foolish child was thinking, safe from the harm that Konohagakure was harboring.

"Go now, Akatsuchi," the woman said softly to her childhood friend. "Operation Sakura is ago."

_We start by gathering information. Until their guard is down…when the cherry blossoms are in bloom and April arrives, then we begin the end of all things. _


	2. 始まるの終わり

Author's Note - Everything post-699, including the novels and the new _**Retsuden **_series is canon. This includes chapters 1 to 39 in _Boruto: Naruto Next Generations _and the anime.

Heavy spoilers to those who do not read the manga!

* * *

_Chapter 1_

_Two weeks prior…_

Team Konohamaru arrived at the gates of Konohagakure early next morning. The evening mist and the vivid sunset glow that adorned the skies previously was now a pale blue. The sun was barely shining in the sky, and the tree leaves didn't rustle. It was quiet as the gigantic _an _gates came into view.

Uchiha Sarada looked back worriedly at Boruto. The simple C rank mission he had initially refused had turned into a mess of an S rank one. Now that she had time to think about the events, Sarada's head no longer hurt from the massive amount of information she had seen. For now, a tentative time frame was in place.

The strange and mysterious organization had been after that boy for some reason. Sarada inwardly shuddered at the image of Ao-_san_'s dead body, crushed under the massive force of a Summoning Toad. The toad seemed different from the summons Konohamaru-_sensei _had shown them when they were in the Academy. It had an air of killing intent, although Sarada didn't know if it was possible for summons to replicate the same aura as their summoned.

The man who had indirectly killed Ao-_san _had almost killed them. Sarada had inwardly screamed as flames, dark red and scorching to the touch, began to burn Konohamaru-_sensei _alive. It was only thanks to the seal on Boruto's palm that any of them had survived. Sarada tried to see the shape on Boruto's hand again, although it was blocked from her view. _What an idiot, _she thought to herself at the sight of the body of the boy Boruto was carrying on his back. Despite being exhausted and his chakra network in disarray, the blond shinobi had been stubborn when insisting that he carry the mysterious boy. The Konoha genin had said that it was because of the same mark they both had, but Sarada could see that Boruto was curious about the boy.

_I don't know if I would want to get close to him. _The organization had not sent Kashin Koji after the boy, but also several others. One of which the taller boy had engaged a battle with strange markings appearing over his face, before Boruto's marking began to react in the same manner. Although stunned by the man's violence and apathy to the strange boy, Sarada hadn't thought that the dark-haired boy, the same age of them, would have obliterated the same man who wondered about breaking his legs so he wouldn't run away. Then, the boy cursing had collapsed, prompting Katasuke-_san _to examine the male. According to the scientist, the younger male had his entire body modified – his nervous system, his vessels, almost as if he was a living example of the _Nanadaime _Hokage's arm. Sarada hadn't liked the idea of taking the boy with such raw strength with them, given of what he had told Boruto.

She thought as the gates came closer.

It was then that Mitsuki had told the conscious shinobi that he was a synthetic human and a clone of Orochimaru. Sarada stared at her teammate who was walking alongside Konohamaru-_sensei_. He hadn't looked disturbed at all when telling them his secret, and in fact had the usual smile on his face. The female Uchiha continued to observe her teammate. _A clone… _Her heart clenched as memories of the previous months rushed inside of her mind as if they had only occurred seconds before. She remembered being attacked by a child that had the same Uchiha crest as her, his speech slow and hair in a strange carrot top. He had been a clone as well. For some reason, the "fake Uchiha" as stated by Papa, had wanted to kill him because he had killed someone named Itachi. No matter how Sarada prodded her father, she was no closer to understanding why that man who was killed by his own clones had angered him so much.

Sarada had met Orochimaru as well. Chouchou had been confused by Orochimaru's gender, and so had Sarada. The shinobi seemed _different_ from the history books she had read. Instead of the crazed shinobi who was obsessed with immortality and attempted to destroy Konoha years ago, killed the _Sandaime_, and was involved in her parents' Chuunin Exams, this…person seemed to care greatly for Mitsuki. Sarada had overheard the _Nanadaime _and Orochimaru exchange words, although she hadn't been able to understand the words "beloved child" until now. It was strange, but Mitsuki too seemed to have affection for his "parent." Before the Chuunin Exams, he had told them that his parent was amazing as well, and should be respected as much as their fathers.

_I don't know about respect, but…you seem to care for one another. _Sarada still didn't quite understand Mitsuki sometimes. He was obsessed with his "Sun" relationship with Boruto even though the said shinobi was oblivious. There was an aura of mystery around her teammate. _I guess that comes with being the son of Orochimaru. _He seemed more open to them now than before when they had become a team, but Sarada wondered if Mitsuki truly had any dreams of his own. The white-blue haired twelve year old boy simply wanted to stay by their sides, it seemed, but was that truly a dream?

Kashin Koji also seemed to know about Mitsuki's parentage as well. Sarada didn't think that it was an open secret that Mitsuki was Orochimaru's child, so Kashin Koji may have connections to Konoha. _But…how…? Who could he have connections to? _The thought troubled her, especially of how the man wielded the Rasengan.

_Come to think of it, the moment he said those words about Mitsuki, Mitsuki was… _Sarada didn't often blush. Unlike her mother, Uchiha Sakura, who seemed to blush whenever something embarrassing happened in the presence of her husband, Sarada was less prone to embarrassment. The only time she had blushed was the moment when Boruto had told her that he would protect her on the road to be Hokage. Sarada had blushed them because until then, her blond-haired teammate openly disdained the title of Hokage and hated anything to do with it. Now he had declared that he would protect her. _No one had ever said that to me before, so I reacted the way that was appropriate. _She had been surprised at herself at not protesting at Boruto's words, for Sarada was independent and hated being considered a damsel in distress. That was one of the reasons she loved her father so much. He didn't doubt her capabilities. It was odd.

Now that she thought about the mission, Mitsuki had been touching her a lot lately.

He had used his _Soft Body Mystique Technique _to hold her back to prevent her from joining the battle with Boruto. Without his intervention, Sarada would have likely been seriously wounded, if not killed. His hands had touched her stomach and around her neck to prevent her from attacking Kashin Koji, and although it had been a strictly platonic gesture, a faint blush echoed across her cheeks. She was never more thankful that she had not developed a chest like Chouchou.

_Argh! So embarrassing! _

She looked back at her team. Boruto was panting, having carried the strange boy with the same mark on his palm for more than ten kilometers. The strange markings that had ordained his face had gone, leaving his face like before. Konohamaru-_sensei _was not far behind, his hair somewhat singed and his clothes ripped and slightly torn. Sarada never wanted to see a technique that had almost killed her sensei again. Sarada had been stunned when Mitsuki had been able to provide basic medical _ninjutsu _to the most severe of their sensei's burns. _Since when had Mitsuki known how to use medical ninjutsu? _How could she not have noticed, with her mother being the best medical ninja in the Five Shinobi Countries? Mitsuki was by his side, but his eyes were staring at his surroundings. Golden iris seemed to not notice they were approaching the gates, but staring at the sky and the trees above them. His clothing, which was old-fashioned compared to Konoha, was mostly clean, with no tears or blood. The slightly wavy hair was in a slight disarray.

Sarada smiled and looked on ahead.

_Come to think of it…I don't mind being protected by him at all._


	3. Embryo

_Embryo_

When Team 7 had appeared in front of the Hokage's desk, the blond haired Hokage knew that the mission the genin team had been assigned had jumped in rank. Sarada knew that it was rare for shinobi to report to the Hokage regarding a mission, unless in extremely dangerous or delicate situations. Occasionally, an A rank mission would require a meeting with the Hokage, but shinobi who took such missions were few and far in between.

Sarada envisioned herself in front of the _Nanadaime _and the advisor to the Hokage, Shikadai's dad, facing her with respect in their eyes as they proclaimed her the prime candidate for the title of _Hachidaime Hokage. _Only her teammates knew of her dream, as did her mama and papa.

And her onii-chan. Sarada held in laughter at the thought of her older brother. He was born ten months before her, and already seeing the world and going on missions. When she used to complain about Boruto, Itsuku had only sighed and started talking about Shizu-_chan_.

_"For disliking him so much, you certainly talk about him a lot. Just like with me and Shizu-chan."_

Although Sarada didn't understand, when she had had been very young, her older brother had visited so many doctors. There appeared to be nothing wrong with him. But there were times that Sarada remembered when it became painful for her brother to walk, or he woke up screaming and speaking in a language no one understood. The "spells" were so frequent in their childhood that Sarada was half-afriad to approach her brother, not knowing if he would go back into the nightmarish world of his own making or if he would still be the quiet child that was too quiet and loved observing humans.

His words, not hers.

Even so, Itsuku was for some reason, deathly afriad of bartender uniforms.

He wasn't the only strange, but loving one.

Fond memories resurfaced as Sarada remembered how her papa had become very strange. Offering to buy her sweets and crunching down to give her a piggy back ride on Parent and Child Day. _He was so annoying that day…but I'm glad he turned back to normal. _He too supported her dream to become Hokage, and that brought Sarada pure joy like no other. Although, her papa had told her too that he was certain she wouldn't follow the wrong path. _What is that supposed to mean? _

However, Team 7 – the pre-adolescent members – were stunned into silence when they were told that Konohamaru-sensei would be debriefing the Hokage alone. Boruto had been strangely quiet. Ever since the strange boy had been dropped off at the hospital, the normally loud shinobi had been almost distant. Now his blue eyes narrowed, and he stalked away in an angry huff. Sarada had tried to call his name, but the small blond Uzumaki didn't answer her. The door closed.

The remaining members of Team 7 were now sitting in the area where they usually hung out before missions. The human traffic around the area had lessened, so Sarada and Mitsuki could have had a conversation without getting overheard if they wanted to. Instead, the dark-haired female looked up at the sky. The dry autumn air was somewhat cool, now longer blistering hot but containing the sweet warmth of very late summer. The leaves had yet to change to the vibrant red, orange, and yellow colors. It was the beginning of October, but yet –

"That's right," Sarada whispered. She couldn't believe she had forgotten. Beside her, Mitsuki was watching her in interest. "Tomorrow is the anniversary of the end of the war, and the _Nanadaime _Hokage's birthday."

Sarada remembered her own birthday. The search for her father and real parentage were still fresh, and it seemed to the girl that her mother was trying to ease the pain of her father having to go on his mission again. Although twelve years old, Sarada had been embarrassed to want a message from her father. It wasn't like him to send messages to his wife or children, and Sarada didn't remember her mother receiving anything during the years her father was away. Not on birthdays, or anniversaries. One time a seven year old Sarada had overheard Shikadai complain about his parents' anniversary, and the child was astounded to find that the anniversary was related to marriage. She knew for sure that Mama had married Papa, but her child self didn't know anything about her parents' relationship. Not even a year ago, Sarada had seen that as a sign that her parents' relationship was fake, and that there was no way the person who called herself her mother was biologically related to her.

Well…

"_You really a pathetic if you think that, imouto."_

"_Foolish little sister."_

He spoke in such a silky way, almost as if he was playing with her like they had when they were children.

But there was a hint of anger that made Sarada think twice of angering him again.

But why…did he defend their father so much? Why was he always on their mother's side when Sarada would complain about not having a father around…when he had been less than a year older than her when their father had left, with no return?

Itsuku was only truly angry when he spoke like that. Sarada didn't know why her calm and emotional but obtuse brother appeared so angry.

Didn't he care that Papa was never home?

It wasn't as if he could understand her feelings.

Now, Sarada understood that it must have been painful for her mother to tell her simple things about her father, because then it would morph into the longing she had developed recently.

_What about Mitsuki? _Sarada wondered. She remembered of how her teammate had said he was a synthetic human. _What does that even mean, a synthetic human? And he doesn't seem to be any different than us. _

"You have a question in your eyes," Mitsuki suddenly said. Sarada almost jumped at the sound of his voice. As opposed to Boruto's loud and bright voice that would have been heard across miles, Mitsuki's voice was calmer, with a slightly deeper tone. His voice often sounded ambivalent, not exactly careless but not caring what other people thought of him.

"When you said…that you were a synthetic human, what did you mean?" Sarada asked.

"I meant exactly what I said," Mitsuki answered mysteriously. His golden eyes didn't change as Sarada stared at him in exasperation.

"But what does it _mean_, Mitsuki? To you? Does that mean…you're a clone?" Sarada didn't have much experience with clones, except for those made by Uchiha Shin. The dark-haired genin didn't know why she was horrified by the idea of Mitsuki being a clone. Maybe it was because –

"Yes." Sarada stared at her teammate in shock. "Although I did say I was a clone of Orochimaru, that isn't entirely correct. I do have some of his traits and DNA, but I do have the DNA of others as well."

"So is Orochimaru your father, then?" Sarada asked. She had met Orochimaru before, and she could tell that Mitsuki wasn't a complete clone to the strange shinobi. Not like the Shin clones.

"Orochimaru is my parent, but they told me that the core of a person is what matters." A glimpse of admiration appeared in Mitsuki's gaze. "Being in so many bodies, the physical gender doesn't matter…so they are just my parent."

"So then….you have a mother?"

"I suppose so. Even though I was created through artificial means, humans do need a female as their caregiver. Although, you are interesting Sarada."

"Me?" Sarada turned to her teammate in surprise. His golden eyes seemed to shine in the darkening sky. "Why me?"

"You grew up with your mother, your female caregiver for most of your life. I suppose you could say that I grew up with only my parent as a caregiver as well. It is interesting, as compared to us, Boruto has both a mother, father, and younger sibling."

"I have an older brother," Sarada corrected. "Just because he's on missions doesn't mean he stops existing."

"He's a very interesting specimen," Mitsuki said with a rare look of curiosity. "So fascinated by humans…as if he is not human himself, and his red eyes that look like the Sharingan."

"And one violent teammate that wants to kill him all the time, and then so-called doctor with no empathy," Sarada stated as she remembered her mother's narrowed eyes as she heard about Kishitani Shinra's interests.

_Would he create clones, too…?_

Sarada briefly thought of the young clones that were now in Konoha Orphanage. Although her father had declared Uchiha Shin as fake, the younger Uchiha didn't know what his feelings were about the "children" he had made. She didn't know what to think, either. _Mama's awesome though. _Sarada and her father had been stunned to find the pink-haired Uchiha preforming reconstructive surgery on the same clone that had attacked Sarada. Uchiha Shin lay immobilized from poison on the floor as the other clones slowly lowered their weapons, confusion marring their features. Although Uchiha Shin _had _been killed by his clones, no bloodshed had been spilled.

There had been about 300 clones that had been produced both by Uchiha Shin and his children. All were residing, reportedly by the director, in one of the larger areas where the children lived.

"Do you not like that I am a clone, Sarada?" Mitsuki's voice bore no malice or anger. It was as if he was talking about the weather, and Sarada hurried to reassure him that wasn't the case.

"N-no! Mitsuki, no, it's not that! I just…" A blush coated Sarada's cheeks. "It's just that…well, I have experience with clones in the past, and you just don't seem like them."

"Contrary to the belief of Konoha shinobi and Nara Shikamaru, I haven't been bred for the purpose of war," Mitsuki replied quietly. _They think that?! _Sarada thought in shock. _Mitsuki, that's…! _"My parent did take care of me, although it wasn't in the traditional sense. They seem to want me to carve my own path. And to do that…"

"You need to find your sun." Mitsuki looked at the glasses kunoichi for a moment, seeing her smile at him. "The moon needs the sun in order to survive, right? It's simple science, although I think yours is more poetic."

Mitsuki looked thoughtful for a moment, glancing upward toward the sky as if providing answers.

"Something else requires my attention, Sarada." The wavy blue-white hair slightly waved in the wind as Mitsuki jumped onto the object. "I will see you tomorrow."

Sarada made an affirming noise as she watched Mitsuki go away. Some of things they had talked about echoed in her mind as she walked towards her home. It was as the _Nanadaime _said, all bonds come in different shapes. They didn't have to be blood related. _I wonder when Papa will be home, _Sarada thought as she quietly entered her house. Her mother had left the light on for her, and there was a bowl of onion soup near the table.

Love for her mother enveloped the young girl then as she quietly heated up the soup. She was using the same jutsu her father had taught her when he came back, a sign of the bond they shared. _When Papa comes back, I'll show him how much I've improved with Katon. _

Sarada smiled happily at the thought.


	4. 選んで

Author's Note

Hello, readers. I apologize for the long wait for this short chapter. This is the truth. I had started writing this story about a year and a half ago, and then deleted it. I used many of the same materials, and the new edition flows better than the first. But I find myself unmotivated about fanfiction nowadays, and the flaming passion I had in October is now completely drained. I apologize for any readers who were hoping they would be getting frequent updates, but now my lfe has changed. I will be returning to Japan for graduate school in March, and the reason why it took my so long to update the story is because I know what it is like to read a story and then have it uncompleted. I will not be abandoning this story. For now, my focus is on getting my life in Japan started and then focusing on my graduate thesis. I do not know when I will return to write. There may be infrequent updates, but those will be the promise that I will give to you. When I have the desire, I will update the story when I have time in my schedule. Thank you for all that have read so far, and I hope to come back to write about Itsuku and Sarada in the near future!

Mononoke-hime x sukai kurora

* * *

_Choices_

October 11, midnight

Yakushi Kabuto was once a shinobi that imitated the most evil of human beings. Although he was now known as "Father" by many of the children in Konoha Orphanage, there were many times that the weary man would stare at the skies and the moon. Wondering if this is what his purpose was – and if this purpose would cleanse his hands of all the terrible things he had done, leading up to the war, and as Orochimaru's right handed man.

_I had no choice. _Many human beings were programmed in the nature of absolving themselves of guilt. If it was an atrocity, then they were just following orders. The people were just doing their jobs. Some nights, Kabuto didn't understand why Hatake Kakashi had given him the positon to be the director of the Konoha Orphanage. The silver-haired Hokage, staring at him blank-eyed in his one-room cell in Konoha Prison where he spent two mere months, told him that he would be the one taking over the vacant director position. Due to Urushi being a medical ninja, his skills were needed in the hospital where patients were coming in waves as missing were found, as limbs had to be reattached or deattached….as the wounds the shinobi had were deemed too fatal to treat.

_"Isn't this what you wanted, Yakushi Kabuto? Naruto spoke highly of your dream."_

It was Kabuto who had made the decision to desert Konoha at age thirteen. It was Kabuto that furthered his skills as a medical ninja by experimentation, on others and on himself. It was Kabuto, fueled by half-grief and desperation, injected Orochimaru's cells into his body to mimic the man he saw as closest to understanding him.

It was Kabuto that brought so much destruction to the shinobi world that it would take generations to replenish. He brought back the dead, going deeper into the darkness until he was almost unrecognizable, festering wounds that brought so much pain to the shinobi fighting for their lives. How many people died because he allied with Tobi, aka Uchiha Obito? Why had he wanted to wage war and destruction in the first place?

70% of the Allied Shinobi Forces died during the days of the Fourth Shinobi War. Many more died on the second night as they battled the two Uchihas, Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Obito. Civilians also died, particularly in the Land of Lighting. Over one thousand shinobi and kunoichi were declared missing. Still, so many of them were declared only missing by family, by…everyone, sixteen years after the Fourth Shinobi War that took their lives.

So, out of 30,000 shinobi and kunoichi that took part in the war, only 1,927 survived on October 11, the day the Infinite Tsukuyomi was dispelled. Two hundred shinobi died from their wounds sustained during the last battle in the coming weeks. In Konoha Prison, Kabuto could still hear their screams. The statics became 1,727 by the end of October.

So many dead. So many mourning. There were times that Kabuto wondered if he even deserved to live.

But the children gave him purpose. A reason to live among the guilt and terrifying dreams that he awoke to. There were children, who appeared to fear him however. Kabuto still remembered of how two very young boys would hide and cry when he came walking in the courtyard.

And some that seemed to hate him, although Hatake Kakashi had reassured him that none of the orphaned children knew his identity. Kabuto was reminiscing of one child in particular, with dark purple hair with eyes drowning in sorrow and rage as she looked up at him years ago, when…

When…

As with many nights, Kabuto would look outside the windows of the orphanage and stare at the moon. There had been no windows in Konoha Prison, and Kabuto often found himself grateful, even now, that he was able to look at the moon. That night, there was a knock on the main door. It was remarkably odd. No one knocked at this time of the day. Urushi, his partner in taking care of the children, was asleep after calming the youngest infants.

Kabuto stood and walked away from his chair to find a cloaked figure standing before the doorway. The figure wore a dark red cloak and wore shinobi sandals. They had no other possessions with them.

Suddenly, the hood was pulled away to reveal a youthful face. With dark brown hair and silver-rimmed glasses, Kabuto thought he looked eerily familiar to one of the Konoha council members. He had dark brown eyes and a thin face. When he spoke however, the shinobi instincts that Kabuto kept inside him for long seeped through his veins.

"I know who and what you are, Yakushi Kabuto." The older shinobi stilled, and his eyes remained on the unnamed figure's face despite seeing a gleam of a katana peeking beneath the sleeve of the dark red cloak. "But you are not what interests me. The Sharigan. The white-haired children that you call your own need to be destroyed." The cold steel of the katana was placed over Kabuto's neck.

"Playing with gods…that is what you do, right?"

"And why do you believe I will allow my children to be killed?"

The cloaked figure didn't say anything. He smiled. It wasn't like the crazed smiles Orochimaru often had. Serene-like, almost as if –

"Your reputation will be in shatters. What will happen to the children if you are known to be the person who started the Fourth Shinobi War, with people still grieving and hating the war itself? People do strange things when they go mad with rage or grief. Your brother Urushi can't handle this mess all on his own. And the children will have nowhere to go. And maybe, who knows, I will accidently kill one of them."

It was as if Kabuto had no breath. He looked at this stranger smiling at him. A stranger holding a deadly weapon in his hands. _Choose. _Many people claimed they had no choices. Choices came to them, not that they made the choices themselves.

"Why?" Kabuto asked. His voice was low and sad. "Why do you want to kill them?'

The stranger continued to smile. His left eye seemed to focuses on the distraught man with an unforgiving choice before.

_Choose. All you have to do is fight. Fight. Choose for the children, Kabuto. Don't…don't make any deaths._

But Kabuto did nothing.

"Because. They. Are. Uchiha."

Choices defined human beings. Kabuto at least hoped that this choice would haunt him less than the thousand of souls lost and played with.

Although, he knew his feeble wish would never come true.


	5. Reverberating Wind

_Reverberating Wind_

Uchiha Itsuku was known as the Second Coming of Morino Ibiki. Similar in his second life, his mother Uchiha Sakura was considered the Second Coming of Godaime Hokage, the almost-fourteen-year old was considered the heir to the infamous interrogator in the Konoha Torture and Interrogation Division. It wasn't as if he was involved in torture – unlike Karisawa and Yumasaki in his former life – but he was very good at interrogation.

Itsuku knew he had been Orihara Izaya in his previous life. His parents didn't understand why their oldest child would be deeply interested in the technology developing after the Fourth Shinobi War, or why their two, three-year old son would scream in the dead of night from nightmares. He was covered in blood, his arms broke into tiny little pieces, and much to his mother's horror, sometimes, his legs would lose their function from the trauma from the fight…that had caused him to die. For sure, Izaya hadn't died immediately from the fight. Even with the bloody hole in his abdomen and his spine broken, Izaya had lived for two weeks in a haze of agony so sharp he wished that the brute had killed him.

_Shizu-chan… _

Izaya had laughed, as he was laughing now at the fact that even if he had died and had been born in this new life, he was still in the pain of unrequited love to Heiwajima Shizuo. He acknowledged now that his former self had been terrified of Shizuo finding out about his love for him, the deep hatred for himself, and of how similar they were to each other.

Izaya had said it himself. _"There are times that I can't control myself." _Isn't that how Shizu-_chan _was, of not being able to control his anger and then causing destruction? But then again, Shizu-_chan _had no inkling of how much he was loved. Shizu-chan wasn't moralistic or kind at all, to the extent that his friends portrayed him as. It truly had made Izaya angry of how Kida-kun, Celty, and even Shinra fawned over Shizuo's lack of control and of his blatant self-hatred but yet thought there was no humanity in Izaya.

_"You piss me off."_

_Not even giving me a second chance...Shizu-chan, I never understood why you hurt me to the end._

He still loved to play games. Morino-san had been shocked and impressed of how a mere child, eleven years old at the time, had managed to convince an adult former shinobi to crumble from his playful words. _"I don't fully manipulate them, Morino-san," _Itsuku had said to the frightfully tall interrogator with a small smile. The scarred man hadn't replied, no doubt looking for his body language…his weaknesses. But then, Morino-san knew all about his childhood trauma and nightmares, didn't he?

The deputy interrogator was Yamanaka Ino, and she had first peered into the child's mind, stunned of finding memories that shouldn't belong to such a young child.

"_Before you even open your mouth, you twist your own world and are terrified that he doesn't have to do anything. You scar yourself into doing what he wants to do."_

At this point, being two years as Morino-san's assistant, Itsuku didn't know if the regular shinobi were talking about the adult or himself. It wasn't as if he wasn't aware of the judgement or disgust in their eyes every time they saw the long black trench coat or the black overcoat with the Uchiha fan on the back walking around Konohagakure. As Izaya, he was used to being hated and despised for what he did. What would the heroic shinobi say if they knew the kind and beautiful Yamanaka Ino was a interrogator as well?

How often had he seen her work diligently to protect Konoha with the Satan of Konohagakure, capable and willing to tear apart the mind into agony?

She was one of the few that knew about the light scars that adorned his body, and the fact that his sleepless nights were spent by wandering Konoha as he had wandered Ikebukuro in another world.

_Humans are so interesting. _Yes, Itsuku still loved humans. It took him lying and in so much pain he begged to die for him to realize that the hatred that he had for Shizu-chan was because the handsome blond was loved and Izaya could only watch his humans lived day by day.

Of course, he loved humanity. It was easier to love humanity than examine his own fucked-up existence and self-hatred.

But now Itsuku wasn't as interested in games as much as he was. There was no reason to start a war. There was still a reason to observe and record. Since they had met in the Academy, Itsuku and Shizu-chan still caused destruction and pretended they hated each other. Shinra was as manipulative as usual.

Even without their memories, they remained the same.

Itsuku reserved smiles for the only people who understood him. There were times after the horrific nightmares that still plagued him that his mother and father talked with him. His father became more of an equal to him, talking as Uchiha Sasuke and not his father. His mother gave him more love and gentleness than Izaya had experienced in his life.

Sarada remained on the outside. For sure, she knew and loved her older brother, but she yet had determined the reason why he chose the profession that he did. Itsuku was impressed when she declared her intention to become Hokage. She was his favorite human to watch, besides Shizu-chan.

Itsuku was content with his life at it was now. He had no idea why he was reincarnated as Sasuke's and Sakura's son, but there must be a reason.

His life should have been sweeter than his first.

Which was why, when Morino-san told him that during the night before, Morino-san reported to him of intelligence that Konoha's Orphanage was attacked, Itsuku's response was a grim smile.

"_Your past is your god, Mikado-kun." _


	6. 血で生まれた

_血で生_まれた

* * *

It took every ounce of willpower for Itsuku to not void his stomach at the sight before him. Perhaps it was a sign of his past life as an informant, but Itsuku could only stare numbly at the blood staining the walls.

The other shinobi and police officers were not so lucky. Itsuku could hear their painful retching, the sound vaguely distant to his surroundings as his red eyes took in the room.

Red. Red so deep it looked almost black. The floors were stained with it, flowing sluggishly from the motionless forms as if they were still alive. The dark-haired young man gritted his teeth. The room bathed in blood seemed to sway beneath his feet as the stains dripped onto the ground. There was not an inch of where the blood hadn't polluted the room where the children once played. Itsuku would call them children, no matter his father's opinion on the matter. His red eye warily glanced back at the black-haired man, who was staring motionless at the sight both Uchihas were seeing now. Itsuku wanted to tear his eyes, all of his six senses away from the body parts, the blood, and the faces…but the scent of blood was almost overpowering.

Body parts were strewn everywhere. Blood stained the stumps of legs and arms. Itsuku saw scared faces and mouths open, horrified, some with heads attached to their bodies and some with decapitated heads far away from where the rest of the body lied. Some of the Uchiha clones looked as if they were merely asleep or had a slight look of surprise.

Itsuku didn't know of who could have slaughtered three hundred human beings. Yes, they had been clones of the deranged Uchiha Shin, the _thing _who almost killed his family, but they were human beings all the same.

Simon had once said that it took a strength of character to kill someone. The sushi chef had stared at Izaya with a smile, but the disgust as he stared at the informant didn't take him by surprise. Simon had further said to twenty-three year old informant that he didn't possess the will to dirty his hands, to have blood to his name.

He wouldn't even be able to kill Shizuo, his mortal enemy since they met in high school eight years ago.

_"You're a low-life."_

Itsuku hadn't heard that word used to describe him since he had been born in this world almost thirteen years ago. The early April sun shone through the window, but the former informant couldn't focus on the rays of sun.

He had been stunned and yet so happy when he had found Shizu-chan again, albeit under a different name. His blond hair was gone, the natural dark brown pleasing to the seven year old Itsuku nonetheless.

_"Stay out of my life, you shitty flea!"_

It had amused Itsuku to no end that he and Shizu-chan had been placed on the same team. Much to the former blonde's horror and disgust.

They seemed to hate each other no mater what.

And now...

Itsuku wanted to hollowly laugh. _Oh, if only you could see this world, Simon. _It was utterly beyond of what the former assassin-turned sushi chef would have imagined. It took only Itsuku twelve years to figure out that Simon's philosophy was very flawed. Not only in this world, but in the world he had been born into. It was very easy to kill a person. Emotion ruled everything. Hatred and revenge, and pain…ruled the shinobi world. It was said to be a shinobi was to endure. But Izaya and the-now-existing Itsuku disagreed. Endurance had some part to play in what it meant to be a shinobi, but in truth, the capacity to maintain and discard one's humanity, was what a shinobi was. Shinobi killed all the time. It wasn't determined by the strength of one's character. It took just one thought, and a sliver of emotion to kill.

The question was if one could control it.

If one would become a protector or a berserker.

Itsuku personally preferred gathering information and people-watching than killing.

Suddenly, his father appeared to snap out of his flashback and walked slowly forward to the center of the massacre. His body seemed to move robotically as his father's uncharacteristic feverish search for underneath the bodies.

Morino Ibiki was silent beside him. He too knew how Uchiha Sasuke worked. Among the shocked gasps and cries for him to stop as the bod parts began to roll onto the bloodied floor, Itsuku's father reached under two bodies of the children and pulled.

The small form of a child was covered in blood. Itsuku could barely make out his face it was so covered in blood. His strange hair in the form of a turnip was almost black. He was eerily still, and for a moment, Itsuku thought the child was dead.

But then there was a small gasp and the child's eyes blearily opened. There was a gradual cheer from behind the shinobi before they were hushed by the head interrogator.

Itsuku almost watched in awe at the sight as the lone living survivor, body slightly quivering, boy.

It was almost as if a baby was being born.

* * *

Sarada was unsurprised to find herself alone in the house. By the time she would usually awake, her mother would have left for Konoha Hospital, leaving a steaming plate of white rice, eggs, and a peice of fish cooked with soy sauce. Sometimes her older brother would be in the kitchen as she walked inside, washing the dishes quietly. His red eyes would always smile at her as she sat down by the table.

When they were children, Itsuku-nii would always watch their mother cook. Sarada too would love watching their mother cook miso soup, or a stir fry with vegetables, but she never understood why her older sibling was so fascinated by the way meals were cooked. It wasn't only their mother's cooking that he seemed drawn to, either.

_"You can learn about someone intimately by the way they cook."_

Sarada had no idea what he meant.

The twelve year old girl took in the quietness of the house. Something was wrong. Since Papa had been around more often, he was often the first that would wake and would say a quiet good morning to his children.

It was still an odd choice for a house. Sarada remembered vividly of how Mama had destroyed their home in a fit of anger, wincing at the memory. There was still a sense of newness to this house that Sarada hadn't quite shaken yet. Absentmindedly, she turned on the television.

The soft music signaling the beginning of a news segment was missing. Sarada's obsidian eyes stared at the kanji toward the end of the screen.

_Uchiha...war...Konohagakure..._

_Massacre...?_

"Konoha TV is not certain of who gave these highly classified documents to the press, but they are earth-shattering." Sarada stared at the young reporter's brown hair and brown eyes, a shock still palpating in her heart. "It is inconceivable that Uchiha Sasuke, known throughout the shinobi world as the Shadow Hokage, could have committed such actions."

_Why is she talking about Papa...? _Sarada's fingers started to tremble.

"In the day before the Fourth Great Ninja War ended, Uchiha Sasuke had planned on starting a revolution by assassinate the Gogake and Uzumaki Naruto, the future Nandaime Hokage."

It was as if cold water had been thrown in an ocean of below zero temperatures. Her ears began to ring, and her eyes started to blur.

Her heart started to pound in her head, and Sarada found her body begin to shake as her mind's unraveled thoughts came spilling out.

_Papa...? Papa kill...the Gokage? _Sarada swallowed, her body functioning vaguely as tongue stuck to her throat. Salvia coated her mouth and she fought the urge to not vomit. She felt as if she was outside of her body.

_Revolution...? What revolution?! I've never...never heard Mama or anyone, speak of these things!_

"It was also revealed in these papers that Orochimaru, one of the Sannin and killed the Sandaime Hokage, was targeted..."

The television was shut off.

Sarada was tired. More tired than she had felt in her entire life. There was no sound. The genin didn't know what to think. Her mind was an earthquake of confusion. Sarada wanted nothing more than to sit down and think.

Maybe even wait for Papa or her _oniisan _to come home.

But something inside the girl's body told her to move. She remembered of how she had confronted Mama about her relationship with her father, anger and bitterness dulling her senses as poison doused her words.

Sarada ran.


	7. Still Water

The reason why I dropped off from the center of the earth? A very bad and chronic sickness. I'm glad this period is over. You should get a longer chapter soon! I don't deserve your patience, but thank you so very much!

* * *

_Still Water_

It didn't make any sense. In Shizuo's world, the world was thinly divided by two types of people: those who pissed him off, and those who didn't piss him off. For some odd reason, the entire of the flea's stinking family didn't piss him off like that red-eyed bastard did. His mother, Sakura-sensei, was kind and never made any kind of fuss towards his apologies for the destruction of Konoha property.

Shizuo almost wanted to laugh out loud. The flea? The heir or the clone of Uchiha Madara? Please, the scrawny flea was a full coward. There was no way the young teen would have the guts to take over the world.

It was ridiculous. Shizuo growled to himself, thinking more about the accusations flying around Konoha. Apparently, the violet girl…Samidare or something, had been behind the attempt of the freaky tanuki-looking thing attacking the village seven years ago. The girl seemed soft-spoken and was so flustered when he met her during his nightly chases with Itsuku that he forgot to be angry and felt sorry for her instead.

Just let go of shit. The stuff about the Uchiha was disturbing. It stank, like the flea. But Shizuo reasoned that the flea's father would have managed to end the world by now if he wanted to. He had sixteen years to do it. Why wait and let the shinobi system flourish?

He didn't know what was going on, but it wasn't good. The air, the very aura of the village changed. The villagers were becoming crazy. For some reason, they reminded him of something that he had forgotten. The protests had swelled into violent numbers. It reminded him of when the Byakuya gang attacked, only this time there was no slimy genjutsu. He hated genjustsu with a passion. When he had been in the Academy, it had taken all his self-control not to blow up in the middle of a lesson. Unlike taijutsu and ninjutsu, which could be seen and fought fairly, Shizuo found the concept of genjutsu as trickery. One look at a person's eyes and it was all over.

You could never tell what was coming.  
He knew that Flea was from that clan. His dark hair and red eyes – so like his jutsu and like crimson lotuses that he was surprised that the scrawny thirteen, almost fourteen year old hadn't been proclaimed a danger to society. He had been one of the ones who dispelled the genjutsu, and then made of joke of how much the blond would like to be under his spell. The young teen only remembered his name being yelled from his lips and chasing him through the village…again.

He liked his mother very much though. When he had been a kid and was swallowed by being burned inside out from drowning out of rage, Sakura-san was there to heal his wounds. She smelled so nice. Almost like fresh grass in the late spring with a hint of cherry blossoms. He was so different from Itsuku and her solemn husband. He suppressed a shudder thinking about the man. Although he had been gone for a long time, seemed to know who he was…everything about him. He was a bit apprehensive about him finding out that had a crush on his -  
But he had been a kid then.  
Flea's sister…what's her name…Saki? No, Sorami? Whatever.  
Something bad was happening. The villagers seemed to be furious over some shit he didn't understand. Who cares over what happened years and years ago? Don't get innocent people involved.  
It drove shivers up his spine.  
_Revolution…huh._

Shizuo hadn't spent much time thinking about politics or history in general. His mind was so full of rage and anger that it was hard for him to even think about injustices of the pas. Even Haruga was worried, his expressionless eyes held nothing to say of how he seemed to ling on his brother's face longer than usual. The civilians did have a point. Shizuo thought about the Uchiha family.  
After all the bloodshed and suffering of the years past, didn't they deserve some peace?  
Shizuo just wanted a peaceful, normal life. But no! These assholes had to ruin it!  
_"Shizu-chan…"_  
_Fucking flea! I'll – !_

* * *

Locked up in his own thoughts, Shizuo didn't hear the steps behind him as he prowled through the early afternoon streets. The blow was easily not able to harm him. But the fourteen-year-old fell to the ground with a thud.


End file.
